Short Pump Medical Malpractice Lawyers
Strong advocacy when physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare providers provide negligent medical care
Patients have a right to expect that their physicians will be competent and provide quality care that meets the accepted standards of their specific practice area. This includes making accurate diagnoses, understanding the pros and cons of various treatments, performing surgeries correctly, and informing patients about the benefits and risks of each treatment.
At Phelan Petty Injury Lawyers, we work with qualified medical professionals who understand the standards of care applicable to your condition, whether it involves injury, illness, or disease. We file claims against hospitals, doctors, and other healthcare providers when medical negligence causes unreasonable harm. Our Short Pump medical malpractice lawyers can seek compensation for the medical care you need after malpractice occurs, your lost income, your pain and suffering, and other compensable damages. We’re ready to help you now.
Our medical malpractice recoveries
While our lawyers cannot guarantee results, we have obtained many strong verdicts and settlements for our clients in medical malpractice cases. Some of these recoveries include the following:
- $3.5 million. This case involved a radiologist who misread a patient’s X-rays after a car accident. The radiologist missed an obvious and treatable bowel injury.
- $3 million. This medical malpractice case involved a birth injury that caused a newborn to have cerebral palsy.
- $3 million. Our lawyers obtained a jury verdict for hospital negligence. Due to an improper medical discharge that resulted in a uterine rupture, the mother’s baby died.
- $2.4 million. We were able to hold an orthopedic surgeon accountable for the failure to properly order diagnostic testing and perform emergency surgery for a patient with a tibial plateau fracture and dislocated knee. The medical malpractice caused life-threatening complications that required hospitalization for 46 days, more than 20 surgeries, and a functionally useless leg.
Past results do not guarantee or predict future outcomes. Every case is different.
How can we help?
- What are the elements of medical malpractice?
- What are the different ways doctors may commit medical malpractice?
- Why does medical malpractice happen in Short Pump?
- Who is responsible when medical malpractice occurs?
- How do you prove medical malpractice?
- How much is a medical malpractice claim worth in Virginia?
- What is the time limit for filing a medical malpractice claim in Virginia?
- Do you have a Short Pump medical malpractice lawyer near me?
What are the elements of medical malpractice?
Whatever type of practice a doctor has, that doctor must meet the acceptable Virginia standards for that type of practice. For example, orthopedists must provide care in accordance with accepted orthopedic standards. Surgeons must provide care in accordance with acceptable surgical standards.
A patient can file a medical malpractice claim if they can show the following:
- There was a doctor/patient relationship.
- The healthcare provider breached the duty of competent medical care to the patient.
- The breach of the standard of care proximately caused the patient’s injuries.
- The patient’s injuries cause physical, emotional, and/or financial harm.
Medical malpractice can include doing something improperly (such as operating on the wrong body part) or failing to do something properly (such as failing to order the correct diagnostic tests). At Phelan Petty Injury Lawyers, we can work with physicians practicing in the same or a similar specialty.
Medical malpractice is essentially negligent medical care.
What are the different ways doctors may commit medical malpractice?
At Phelan Petty Injury Lawyers, we work with physicians who can handle the following types of medical malpractice cases, among others:
- Amputation injuries
- Anesthesia errors
- Birth injuries, including cerebral palsy, brachial plexus injuries, HIE, stillbirth, and fetal death
- Brain injuries
- Bariatric surgery malpractice
- Bowel and bladder disorders
- Diagnosis mistakes (delayed and improper)
- Emergency room (ER) mistakes
- Gallbladder injuries
- Hospital-acquired infections/sepsis claims
- Lab test mistakes
- Medication dosage and administration mistakes
- Prescription errors
- Radiology negligence
- Surgical errors
- Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital negligence (subject to the Federal Tort Claims Act and federal procedures)
We also handle medical malpractice claims involving the need for corrective surgeries and/or treatments and health disorders that can’t be effectively treated due to medical mistakes.
Why does medical malpractice happen in Short Pump?
Physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare professionals may commit medical malpractice due to:
- Communication problems
- The lack of proper training, certification, education, and licenses
- Failure to take a full medical history
- Failure to conduct a complete physical medical examination
- Failure to order the correct diagnostic tests
- Failure to comply with acceptable medical standards
- Failure to anticipate complications, such as oxygen loss during a birth delivery
- Failure to prescribe or administer drugs properly
- Failure to monitor a patient
- Early release of a patient
- Negligent hiring and medical credentialing practices
- Many other types of medical mistakes
Who is responsible when medical malpractice occurs?
At Phelan Petty Injury Lawyers, we file claims against healthcare providers responsible for medical malpractice. The defendants may include
- Hospitals
- Specialists, such as obstetricians, neurologists, oncologists, orthopedists, and cardiologists
- Surgeons
- Ambulatory surgery centers
- Family doctors
- Anesthesiologists
- Pain management doctors
- Nurses
- Lab technicians
- Midwives
- Pharmacists
- Radiologists
- Long-term care facilities, including nursing homes
- Other healthcare providers
Some of the local hospitals in and near Short Pump include the following:
- Parham Doctors’ Hospital
- Bon Secours Short Pump Primary Care
- Bon Secours Short Pump Emergency Center
There are many private medical providers in the Short Pump/Richmond/Henrico County region.
How do you prove medical malpractice?
At Phelan Petty Injury Lawyers, we understand how upsetting medical malpractice claims are. Instead of feeling better, you may feel a whole lot worse.
Our seasoned medical malpractice lawyers help our clients in the following ways. We:
- Work with medical expertswho can explain why medical malpractice occurred in language that insurance companies, judges, and juries can understand. It’s not just enough to write a report. Medical experts need to be able to testify in court and at medical depositions.
- Work with medical experts who understand your current medical needs, what treatments may work, what complications may arise, and how the malpractice is affecting you.
- Question the defendants and medical staff about what happened, what didn’t happen, and what should have happened during your medical care.
- Request compensation by verifying your diagnosis, the cost of your medical care, and other expenses, such as home remodeling and life planning expenses. We also work to document and explain all your other financial and personal damages.
- Negotiate with the insurance companies for the healthcare providers. We understand what settlements are fair and just, and when you should request that a jury decide your case.
- Present your case before a Henrico County judge and jury. We understand how to select juries, present evidence, question you and your witnesses, question the defendants and their witnesses, and argue your right to compensation before the jury.
Jonathan Petty, the head of our medical malpractice department, brings extensive experience handling complex medical malpractice claims from investigation through trial.
How much is a medical malpractice claim worth in Virginia?
While each patient's or family’s claim is unique, our Short Pump medical malpractice lawyers seek compensation for all damages suffered to date and for all future damages. These may include:
- Medical expenses. These costs include ER care, hospital stays, surgeries, physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychological counseling, assistive devices and technology, and medications.
- Medical review. This includes the cost to hire doctors and other medical experts who can review your medical care and provide reports and testimony to justify your medical malpractice claim, and who can explain what corrective options are available and what preventable disorders now cannot be treated.
- Lost income. We seek compensation for a patient’s lost wages, benefits, and business income due to their health condition.
- Pain and suffering.We seek compensation for every moment patients have pain, discomfort, anxiety, depression, or other physical and emotional trauma.
- Additional damages. Our Short Pump medical malpractice lawyers also seek compensation for any scarring and disfigurement, the inability to enjoy life, and the loss of bodily function.
We file wrongful death claims if medical malpractice causes the death of a family member, such as when a failure to diagnose cancer prevents doctors from treating the cancer. Wrongful death damages include:
- The funeral and burial costs.
- Sorrow, mental anguish, and solace, which may include society, companionship, comfort, guidance, kindly offices, and advice from the decedent.
- The loss of protection, care, services, and assistance provided by the decedent.
- Any outstanding medical costs.
Virginia law caps total damages in medical malpractice cases. For injuries occurring between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026, the cap is $2.70 million, regardless of the number of defendants or theories of liability.
Punitive damages are also subject to a cap of $350,000 in Virginia.
What is the time limit for filing a medical malpractice claim in Virginia?
In Virginia, a medical malpractice claim generally must be filed within two years from the date of the alleged negligent act, subject to limited statutory exceptions. We can explain if any exceptions apply, such as when a foreign object is left inside a patient, or there is intentional misrepresentation or fraud.
Please contact us as soon as possible so that we can help you obtain a prompt, competent medical review.
Do you have a Short Pump medical malpractice lawyer near me?
Yes. Our office is located in Richmond at 3315 West Broad Street. Our medical malpractice attorneys also discuss medical malpractice claims by phone and through Zoom, FaceTime, and other online video platforms. If your injuries make traveling too difficult, we’ll arrange to see you away from our office.
We help patients and families when doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers make medical mistakes.
Contact our respected Short Pump medical malpractice lawyers today
It’s natural to be upset. You anticipated that your health providers would improve or stabilize your health. Now you feel worse, and there may be no corrective actions. At Phelan Petty Injury Lawyers, we work to hold hospitals, physicians, and other medical providers accountable for medical malpractice.
Please phone our Short Pump medical malpractice attorneys or fill out our contact form to schedule a free consultation. Our lawyers represent medical malpractice victims throughout Virginia on a contingency fee basis.